Slow Cooker Rosemary Garlic Beef Stew

$14.08 recipe / $1.41 per cup

Whoa. Just, WHOA. I’ve never smelled anything as lovely and drool inducing as the scent in my house the day I made this Slow Cooker Rosemary Garlic Beef Stew. It was absolutely incredible. It had me checking the clock every 15 minutes to see if it had been four hours yet. I couldn’t wait to lift the lid and take a quick taste.

Unlike most slow cooker recipes where you just dump in the ingredients and press go, this Rosemary Garlic Beef Stew is a little more involved, but well worth it. Browning the meat before it goes into the slow cooker caramelizes the proteins and adds a depth to the flavor that you simply can’t get just by letting it boil away in the cooker. It also toasts the flour so you don’t get that gluey flour flavor in the final thickened stew.

To flavor this Rosemary Garlic Beef Stew, I went with a combination similar to my favorite soy-Dijon combo. I added a little soy and Dijon to the sauce, but kept the ratios low so they didn’t dominate. If you’re not a fan of Dijon, don’t worry. The final product does not taste at all like mustard or Dijon, it simply has a deeper, more complex flavor because of it. Trust me.

Lastly, I’m listing the serving cost per cup so that you can decide your serving size. If you eat the stew solo, your serving will probably be more like a cup and a half, but many people serve stew over rice or egg noodles, which will further stretch your dollar. Considering how expensive the beef was, the overall Rosemary Garlic Beef Stew recipe stayed very affordable. Win!

Slow Cooker Rosemary Garlic Beef Stew

Slow Cooker Rosemary Garlic Beef Stew

Use your slow cooker to make an intensely flavored Rosemary Garlic Beef Stew with fork tender bits of beef and colorful vegetables.

Total Cost
$14.08 recipe / $1.41 serving

Prep Time30minutes

Cook Time4hours

Total Time4hours30minutes

Servings101 cup each

Ingredients

4medium carrots (1/2 lb.)$0.55

1/2sleeve celery$0.65

1medium onion$0.36

2lbsred potatoes$1.00

2Tbspolive oil$0.32

4clovesgarlic, minced$0.32

1 1/2lbsbeef stew meat$9.06

Salt and pepper$0.05

1/4cupall-purpose flour$0.04

2cupsbeef broth$0.30

2TbspDijon mustard$0.24

1TbspWorcestershire sauce$0.06

1Tbspsoy sauce$0.10

1/2Tbspbrown sugar$0.02

1/2Tbspdried rosemary$0.15

1/2tspthyme$0.05

Instructions

Dice the onion and slice the carrots and celery. Wash the potatoes well and cut them into one inch cubes. Place the onion, carrots, celery, and potatoes into a large slow cooker.

Place the stew meat in a large bowl and season liberally with salt and pepper. Add the flour and toss the meat until it is coated. Set the floured meat aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Sauté the garlic in the hot oil for about one minute, or until soft and fragrant. Add the floured meat and all the flour from the bottom of the bowl to the skillet. Let the beef cook without stirring for a few minutes to allow it to brown on one side. Stir and repeat until most or all sides of the beef pieces are browned. Add the browned beef to the slow cooker and stir to combine with the vegetables.

Return the skillet to the burner and turn the heat down to low. Add the beef broth, Dijon, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, rosemary, and thyme to the skillet. Stir to combine the ingredients and dissolve the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Once everything is dissolved off the bottom of the skillet, pour the sauce over the ingredients in the slow cooker. The sauce will not cover the contents of the slow cooker, but it's okay. More moisture will be released as it cooks.

Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for four hours. After four hours, remove the lid and stir the stew, breaking the beef into smaller pieces as you stir. Taste the stew and adjust the salt if needed. Serve hot as is, or over a bowl of rice or pasta.

Step by Step Photos for Rosemary Garlic Beef Stew

Start by chopping your vegetables and getting them into the slow cooker. I used 1/2 of a one pound bag of carrots (about 4 medium), one medium yellow onion, and half of a sleeve (or bunch) of celery.

I also used about two pounds of potatoes. Wash the potatoes well, then cut into one-inch cubes (no larger). I like to leave the skin on for more color and texture.

Place all of your chopped vegetables in the slow cooker.

I picked up this package of beef stew meat, which is about 1.5 pounds. This is supposed to be the “dollar stretcher”, but it’s still $5.49/lb.! I stretch my dollars with vegetables, thank you very much. Anyway, this stew meat still had bones in it, so watch out for that.

Place the meat in a large bowl and season liberally with salt and pepper.

Then add 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour and stir to coat. The flour will thicken the stew and when it browns in the skillet, it will also create a nice caramelized flavor.

Mince four cloves of garlic and sauté them with 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat for about one minute, or until the garlic is soft and fragrant. A thick heavy skillet that isn’t non-stick will work best for browning the meat. I used cast iron.

Add the prepared meat and all of the flour from the bottom of the bowl. Let the meat brown in the skillet. Browning won’t happen if you stir a lot, so let it cook for a few minutes before stirring, then stir once and let it cook some more. Once the meat is browned on all sides (it won’t be cooked through), add the meat to the slow cooker and stir it to combine with the vegetables.

Return the skillet to the burner and turn the heat down to low. It should be crusted with flour, garlic, and meat drippings. That’s where the flavor is, so we’re going to dissolve it into a sauce.

Add 2 cups beef broth, 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 Tbsp dried rosemary, and 1/2 tsp thyme to the skillet. Stir the sauce over low heat until it is well combined and all of the crust has dissolved off the bottom of the skillet.

Pour the sauce over the ingredients in the slow cooker, place the lid on top, and cook on high for four hours. (the sauce will not cover the ingredients in the slow cooker, but more liquid will be produced as the stew cooks.)

After four hours it will look like this and smell so good that you’ll probably be going out of your mind! The beef is super tender and the juices have melded beautifully with the vegetables and rosemary Dijon sauce.

Give the Rosemary Garlic Beef Stew a good stir to mix it up and break up the tender beef pieces as you go. This will distribute the thickened flour and the whole stew will get a bit thicker and lighter in color. Taste the stew and adjust the salt if needed.

Serve the Rosemary Garlic Beef Stew as is or spooned over a bowl of hot rice or pasta. THIS will keep you warm and full on cold winter or autumn days!

440 comments on “Slow Cooker Rosemary Garlic Beef Stew”

OMG…this beef stew is so delicious. The first time I made this I cooked on high for 4 hours. It was good but the beef was not as tender as I would like. Tonight I made this again cooked on low for 8 hours. The beef was so tender. My husband said this beef stew is the best he ever had. We serve this with toasted bread.

Best beef stew I have ever made. I make it in the instant pot so I’ve modified how I do it. I find the veggies cook so fast in there so I’m cutting them into much bigger pieces. The flavour is fantastic and I don’t think I will ever try another stew recipe again! Just got your app and am looking forward to having all these recipes on my phone!

I’ve done a few modifications on this recipe. Substituted half of the stock with red wine. The alcohol evaporates while deglazing, so no issues there. I aslo let my meat sit overnight is a mixture of plain greek yogurt, rosemary,thyme garlic and basil. Rinse completely before using. The cultures in the yogurt break dowm the toughness of the beef and it truely is melt in your mouth. I use fresh herbs, but give them a couple rolls with a rolling pin to bring out the natural oils. This truely is a fantastic family favorite!

This was simple and amazing. I agree with Anna, that the beef needed more time to get really tender. I used fresh rosemary and thyme sprigs because I had them, and needed to use them, and just pulled them out at the end. They impart their flavor without needly rosemary leaves left behind. Those are the only changes I made and this was anything but bland. Whoever said that maybe didn’t add salt to taste at the end. My biggest challenge was not eating three bowlfuls in one sitting.

Cooking as advised ‘ON HIGH’ is a gross misdirection: four hours at top temp. will produce a gastronomic Hiroshima. Yes, at the start of cooking the process gets a kick start by turning the temp. up but ONLY UNTIL THE LIQUID STARTS TO BUBBLE…….then, bring it right down to about 180*F. for the recommended four hours.

A moment’s reflection makes it clear that a ‘slow cook’ is impossible ‘on high’ – if that means top temp.

For most slow cookers, the “high” setting is equivalent to only about 250ºF. If this were cooked on the stove top or in the oven, you would be correct. This is cooked using a slow cooker, which do not get very hot, even on the high setting.

This recipe is SO GOOD. I followed the recipe almost exactly except I didn’t have thyme (not my favorite herb anyway). I went looking for a stew recipe because it was one of my favorite comfort foods as a kid and this recipe fits the bill perfectly. It does have a LOT of potatoes, which I have absolutely no problem with, but cutting the amount a bit would probably yield a more conventional ratio of ingredients. Will be making again for sure.

Just made this tonight with venison and thr flavors paired beautifully! I didn’t have just thyme on hand so I used herbs de provence which has rosemary, fennel, thyme and lavender. It was incredible! Thank you for a great stew recipe!

Would I be able to make a double batch of this or would the cooking time/temp be off? I am thinking of making this for a christmas party because my husband and I love this! I have never made a double batch of it tho.

This is by far the best beef stew I’ve ever had!!! I made this a couple weeks ago, had some leftover so I saved it in the freezer until I warmed them up for a quick dinner after midnight to finish my long workday today …and the decadent smell was still there, my mouth was revitalized by the bursting flavor and it completely blew away my fatigue!! I’m definitely making these again. Thank you so much for sharing this great recipe!!!

This is so good! I made this a year or so ago and was a bit underwhelmed, but I’ve learned from my mistakes. First off, I only used 3 red potatoes – the first time I made this as written, it seemed like way too many potatoes. Second, I used crushed dried rosemary, and used a little less than called for because the crushed/broken needles take up less space than the whole needles. The first time I made this with whole rosemary, the needles were really annoying and poked my mouth, but the crushed kind is less sharp and gets soft over time. Lastly, I get better results with beef (and pork) if I cook for 8 hrs on low instead of 4 hrs on high. Everything still cooks after 4 hrs on high, but I only get tender, fall-apart meat after 8 hrs on low. With those tweaks, it was awesome! I served it over egg noodles.

Hi! I’m Beth

As a food lover and a number cruncher I've decided that cooking on a budget shouldn't mean canned beans and ramen noodles night after night. Join me for delicious recipes designed for small budgets. More »